OPERAI

Principal Sponsors

Professor Richard Divall OBE

Anna Amalia (1739–1807)

Erwin & Elmire

(1776)(1776)(1776)(1776) Libretto by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) New edition by Peter Tregear

English Translation by Philip Ward by arrangement with Furore Verlag RUNNING TIME: 2 hours 15 mins, including an interval of 15 min

OPERAI

Elmire Suzanne Shakespeare

Erwin Christopher Busietta

Olympia Lee Abrahmsen

Bernardo Nick Jones

Conductor Peter Tregear

Director Gert Reifarth

Concert Master William Grigg

Set & Costume Design Esther Hayes

Lighting Design Bronwyn Pringle

Company Manager Stephen Moschner

Lighting Operator Rita Verrocchi

Producer Xan Colman

CAST & CREW

Elmire Suzanne Shakespeare Suzanne has a Master of Music Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the University of Melbourne. She has a Licentiate of Trinity College London (L.T.C.L.) with distinction in both Voice and Piano. Operatic roles include Rosina: Barber of Seville (Rossini), Musetta: La Boheme (Puccini), Arianna: Il Giustino (Vivaldi), Lucia: Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Stella: Streetcar Named Desire (Previn) and Medora: Il Corsaro (Verdi), Lady Angela: Patience, Yum Yum: The Mikado and Fiametta: Gondoliers (Gilbert and Sullivan).

Suzanne’s concert repertoire consists of Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Exultate Jubilate and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, Bach’s St Johns Passion, Vivaldi’s Magnificat in G minor, C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat Wq.215, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Durufle’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noel, Pergolesi’s Magnificat, Monteverdi’s Mass in illo temporeâ, Perocco’s Three Credo Fragments, Tomio’s Ad Commemorandum (Psalm 38), Constanza’s Camera Vuota, Pauletta’s Alla Malla Mort Mora, Dvorak’s Te Deum and Wilcox’s Southern Star. Suzanne's recordings include the University of Melbourne’s Choir of Trinity College ABC recording of Wilcox’s Southern Star and The Royal Childrens Hospital HUSH CD series with the same choir.

Her awards include The 2006 Opera & Arts Support Group Vocal Scholarship, (McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge), Singer of the Year (Melbourne Welsh Choir Award), runner up in The Armstead Singing Award (Musical Society of Victoria), and Finalist in both the 2006 Herald Sun Aria, the 2007 Covent Garden Award Scholarship and the 2007 German Operatic Award. She has performed with Opera Australia, Opera Australia's OzOpera Schools Company, Victorian Opera, Melbourne Opera, Melbourne City Opera and Lyric Opera of Melbourne.

Erwin Christopher Busietta

Christopher completed his Bachelor of Music studying with Peter Mander at the Melba Conservatorium of Music in 2006. Whilst at the Melba, he was the recipient of the Robert Salzer scholarship and Jean Robinson prize. Christopher made his professional singing debut in 2004 singing the tenor arias in J.S. Bach's St John's Passion with the Scots Church choir and orchestra to critical acclaim and performs regularly as a tenor soloist in concert and in oratorio.

He made his operatic debut in the role of Pedrillo for Lyric Opera of Melbourne’s 2006 production of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. Other professional operatic and theatrical roles include Thomas in the workshop of developing Australian musical, Nostradamus, Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (Rossini) and Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville (Rossini - OzOpera Schools Version). He will be touring primary schools again in 2008 as the prince and wicked stepmother in Cinderella with OzOpera School’s company (Rossini/Massenet). He has also been a member of the Melbourne chorus for several productions with Opera Australia.

He was the winner of the Waverley Aria in 2004. In 2005 he won the Australian Youth Aria, the Dandenong Festival's gold medal and was vocal champion in the Royal South Street Society Competitions. He was third in the German Australian Operatic Grant, a Liederfest finalist, a runner-up in the Singer of the Year Competition and a semi-finalist in the Herald-Sun aria.

Olympia Lee Abrahmsen After graduating from the University of Melbourne with an honours degree in Music Performance and a Diploma of Education, Lee studied in Florence, Italy with Antonio Moretti-Pananti. Lee has won a variety of awards and accolades for opera singing. She was a finalist in the Herald Sun Aria, Covent Garden National Studio Scholarship, German Operatic Award, Australian Youth Aria and winner of the Austral Salon National Scholarship. Lee was also awarded a scholarship to perform in the Bel Canto Festival in Holland, and was invited to perform in the Daniel Ferro Program and Festival in Tuscany.

Her operatic roles include: Mimi in La Boheme, Michaela in Carmen, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Nursing Sister in Suor Angelica for Melbourne Opera Company; Clorinda in La Cenerentola (LOM), Lisa in La Sonnambula (BelCantoFestival), Olympia in Erwin und Elmire (iOpera), Prima Voce in Turandot (Puccini Festival Australia), Soprano Lead in Triptych (Melbourne Fringe Festival); and covered Frasquita in Carmen (MCO), Mabel in Pirates of Penzance (MCO) and Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte (Victorian Opera).

Lee appeared alongside conductor Richard Gill as a soloist in Sing Your Own Opera for Victorian Opera and Orchestra Victoria and sang the role of Hero in the workshop of Richard Mills’ opera Love of the Nightingale for Victorian Opera. This year Lee will appear as Mimi in La Boheme with Melbourne Opera and as Violetta on a national tour of La Traviata with Co Opera.

Bernardo Nick Jones

An emerging young voice in Opera, Nick had his professional debut with Opera Australia in Pirates of Penzance in 2007, whilst in the first year of his Bachelor of Music Performance Degree (voice - repertoire) at the Victorian College of the Arts. In 2007 he also performed in the premiere of Stuart Greenbaum’s Nelson, and was awarded the highest mark in principal study in his first year of study under Anna Connolly and Stephen Grant.

Awarded an Australian Music Events (AME) Scholarship in 2006 and 2007, Nick has performed in Opera In The Alps and Opera In The Market. He will perform solo alongside David Hobson in AME’s Opera By The Loch concert in March 2008.

Conductor Dr Peter Tregear Currently living and working in Melbourne, Peter is a former lecturer in music at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and has worked extensively as a singer, conductor, and academic in opera and music theatre.

He has particular research interests in music between the two world wars, and the music criticism of Edward Said. In 2001 he conducted the UK stage premiere of Max Brand’s Maschinist Hopkins at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, to international acclaim, and in 2005 he conducted the first performance in English of Venyamin Fleishmann’s opera Rothschild’s Violin.

As a singer his stage roles have included, Belcore L’Elisir d’amore, Pluto L'Orfeo, Marchese D’Obigny La Traviata, Drebednyov Moscow Cheryomushki and Don Poppone La Diavolessa. Recent engagements include performances with the Tallis Scholars, Victoria Opera, and Melbourne Opera, and performances in Israel and the Occupied Territories as a soloist with the Choir of London.

Director Dr Gert Reifarth

German based and educated, Gert has worked as a lecturer in German and Cultural Studies in Germany, Ireland and at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He has written and published extensively about German literature, poetry and theatre practice.

As a director his credits include Peter Hacks’ Noch einen Löffel Gift, Liebling?, NUI Galway 1995 (which he also stared in), Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Romulus der Große (co-director), NUI Galway and European tour in 1996 and Bertolt Brecht’s Der Jasager und der Neinsager, NUI Galway and UCD Dublin in 1998.

As a Writer/Director his work Who’s Afraid of Harry Heine?, a Radio-play-live-on-stage about the “Last Romantic,” was performed in October 2006 at the Open Stage in Melbourne. Gert has also written a book on political fairy tales in the GDR and edited one on German poetry.

Concertmaster William Grigg William is completing a combined Bachelor of Music and Arts degree at the University of Melbourne. He is majoring in music performance and philosophy, studying the violin with Elizabeth Sellars.

He comes from a musical family, and has been extremely fortunate to benefit from the long-term teaching of his uncle Fintan Murphy. Other teachers have included Caroline Henbest at the University of Melbourne and Professor Gorjan Kosuta at the Internationale Musikakademie Feldkirchen. In 2007 William toured as soloist with the Melbourne String Ensemble, performing Schubert’s Rondo in A in Sweden and Estonia. William also has a strong interest in the Baroque violin, which he will further with several performances this year, including a concert in August with Hartley Newnham and Ann Murphy.

Esther Hayes - Set & Costume Design Esther was born in Denver, Colorado. She now lives and works in Melbourne as a freelance costume designer. She is also partner in A Portrait to Remember, a portrait painting business with artist Christina Hayes. In 2006, Esther graduated with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art in Production at the Victorian College of the Arts and was awarded the Orloff Family Charitable Trust Scholarship. Since this time Esther has worked with In House, Spilt Second, Platform Youth Theatre, The University of Ballarat Arts Academy, The Victorian College of the Arts, Complete Works Theatre Company and Back to Back Theatre. Her Costume design credits include: A Man for all Seasons, directed by Andrew Blackman, The City Wit, directed by Kim Durban, The Sunny South, directed by Stewart Morritt, Happy End, directed by Peter Evans, The Lower Depths, directed by John Bolton; and millinery design for Far Away, directed by Hallie Shellam.

Bronwyn Pringle - Lighting Design Bronwyn has worked as a lighting designer and technician across Australia, with companies such as Malthouse Theatre, La Mama, BAPA, Theatre in Decay, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Here Theatre and Impro Melbourne, working in venues that have varied from The Sydney Opera House and Theatreworks to a woolshed in Glencoe. Bronwyn has also taught lighting design at various institutions including the VCA, NMIT, VUT and Monash University. Recent designs include Letters from Animals (2007 Green Room Award nominee—best lighting design, independent theatre), The Time is not yet Ripe, Source/Sauce, Another Kind of Listening, Site, Drowned World, Kiss Me Kate, The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria, 4x Beckett, Batboy, Lens and Angry Eddie. Bronwyn has won fringe design awards for Anachronisticity and Uninvited Guests and a Green Room award for Best Lighting Design – Drama for Alias Grace (Malthouse). In 2004 she completed a post graduate diploma in Lighting Design at VCA.

Stephen Moschner - Company Manager Stephen has a varied background in music performance, management and theatre. He has worked with many companies as an orchestra and arts manager including Orchestra Victoria, Opera Australia, Australian Youth Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra & Choir, Victorian State Government, Local Councils, and as the Operations Manager for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Band as part of the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games. Stephen is a music graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts and is a well known performer, educator and reed maker for the Oboe. He was the General Manager of the International Double Reed Society Conference in 2004, held at Monash University, and is the Vice President of the Australasian Double Reed Society. Currently, Stephen is the Coordintaor of Arts & Culture for Nillumbik Shire Council and his most recent venture is as the General Manager of iOpera.

Xan Colman - Producer Xan is a Melbourne based director, writer and producer. Many of Xan’s solo and collaborative stage plays have been produced, including the acclaimed Hand-Holding series, Zirkus Dresden, Lucky Lucky Lucky - The Australian Fairytale Project, and the short play Plum, for which he won the national Glen Eira Literary Awards national Short Stage Play Award in 2003. His directing credits include festival productions across Australia and in Germany. Recent practice highlights include Kala Khun Nueng (Makhampom Studio Bangkok, 2007), Green Wolf (La Mama, 2007), the centennial Beckett/Shostakovich celebration I Start Again (A is for Atlas, 2006), and the inter-artform colour interrogation Blue Views (City of Melbourne funded development, 2006). Xan was an Asialink Performing Arts Resident in 2007, working with Makhampom Theatre Group of Thailand in creative community cultural development practice. He is the Artistic Director of Melbourne-based inter-arts company A is for Atlas, and the Audience Development Coordinator at the Melbourne International Arts Festival.

Rita Verrocchi - Lighting Operator Rita has had a wide and varied involvement in the Melbourne theatre scene over the past 15 years. She has most recently been part of the theatre department at Melbourne University (Union House Theatre), spending most of her theatre time as a venue technician and supervisor. Rita has been a production manager and technical crew for student, community, amateur and professional productions, including the Channel 31 show The Shambles live performances at the 2006 and 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She has also been involved with the Melbourne International Tap Festival in 2005 and 2006, and performances as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Cello Bonnie Smart* Lily Thornton Double Bass Nick Synot* Flute Christine Morris* Kelly Williams

Oboe Karen Lichnovsky* Dafydd Camp

Violins William Grigg (Concertmaster) Fiona Doig Philip Healey* Felicite Heine Bianca Muggleton Kate Sullivan Paul Tulloch Lizzie Welsh Viola Christam Jardine* Michael Trauer

IOpera Chamber Orchestra

* Denotes Principal

Bassoon Chloe Turner* French Horn Julia Monsbourgh* Rob McMillan

Overture

Act I

Geängstet - Elmire

Liebes Kind, was hast du wieder - Olympia

Was sind all die Seligkeiten - Elmire

Ihr solltet genießen - Olympia

Erwin, o schau - Elmire

Da hätt' ich eine niedliche Kleine - Bernardo

Hin ist hin - Bernardo

Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand - Elmire

Ich muß ihn sehen - Elmire & Bernardo

Ein Schauspiel für Götter - Bernardo

Entr'acte

Act II

Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen - Erwin

Inneres Wühlen - Erwin

Auf dem Land und in der Stadt - Erwin & Bernardo

Sie scheinen zu spielen - Bernardo

Sein ganzes Herz dahinzugeben - Erwin & Bernardo

Mit vollen Atemzügen - Elmire

Sieh mich, Heilger, wie ich bin - Elmire

Ha, sie liebt mich! - Erwin & Bernardo

Er ist nicht weit - Elmire & Erwin & Bernardo

Vergib mir die Eile - All

Erwin & Elmire

Synopsis Olympia, mother of Elmire, laments the restrictive social graces of the young and reminisces on the carefree days of her own youth. Elmire, her daughter, appears and seems inconsolable. Her mother tries in vain to cheer her up. After Olympia departs, we discover that Elmire is distressed because she believes her cold behaviour towards Erwin, her lowly born suitor, has made him disappear. Bernardo, Elmire’s French instructor and mentor, overhears her self-reproaches and is able to persuade her to meet an old hermit in a secluded valley. There, he promises, she will find joy in her heart once more. The Second Act opens with Erwin in his hideaway hut in the countryside. Bernardo arrives and announces that Elmire will shortly visit him unaware of his true identity. He disguises Erwin as a hermit. When Elmire arrives, she proceeds to make confession, admitting to having driven her lover to despair by feigning indifference in deference to social propriety. Erwin, convinced at last that Elmire really loves him, reveals his true identity to the delight of all concerned.

Goethe published his text in 1775 as a ‘Schauspiel mit Gesang’; we would recognize it today generically as a Singspiel, and as such it is an early example of a tradition which would reach its apogee with Mozart and Schikeneder’s The Magic Flute (1791). In November 1775, in circumstances decisive to his future career, Goethe accepted an invitation from Anna Amalia (1739–1807), the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and a niece of Frederick the Great of Prussia, to attend her court in Weimar. Goethe’s arrival coincided with Anna’s partial withdrawal from political life, and she seized the opportunity to provide a setting of Erwin and Elmire for the Court Theatre. While neither the first nor last setting of Goethe’s text, Anna Amalia’s nevertheless stands out as a major early achievement in the development of German Opera. Drawing upon models from opera seria, opera buffa, and folk song, she created a particularly successful dramatic whole, one where the nuance provided by the musical accompaniment both complements and comments on the words the characters speak.

The origins of Erwin und Elmire lie not in Germany but in England, in the writings of the Irish-born poet and physician Oliver Goldsmith. In 1766 he published his only novel, The Vicar of Wakefield, which was to be a literary sensation across Western Europe. It was praised both as a supreme representative of the sentimental novel, and as a powerful satire on this very same genre. Tucked away in its pages was ‘The Ballad of Edwin and Angelina’, also known as ‘The Hermit,’ which soon became famous in its own right. Goethe made an adaptation of ‘Erwin und Elmire,’ as he was to call it, in 1773. He was no doubt attracted to the parallels between its tale of struggling love across class boundaries and his faltering relationship with Lili Schönemann (to whom the text is dedicated). The number of times one or other character in the play makes reference to ‘Götter’ (gods), a word aurally indistinguishable when sung from Goethe himself, quashes any doubt about the author’s close identification with this work. In a broader context, the theme of reconciliation achieved in rustic surroundings became a pointed critique on the social pretensions and latent hypocrisy of emerging middle-class society. Yet Goethe also conveyed genuine sympathy for that very same class, recognising the innate humanity in its struggle to reconcile steadfast virtue with restless desire.

Changing fashion, Anna’s status as a female composer, and the vagaries of fate, all contributed to the work’s early disappearance from the repertoire, notwithstanding the lasting historical and cultural significance of both composer and librettist. Even so, it is remarkable that this production by iOpera is only the second for well over two hundred years. In approaching the work, the artistic team has strived both to honour the music (in particular, by retaining the original German text when sung) and also the spirit of the libretto as a biting contemporary social comedy. As Erwin und Elmire makes clear, opera could (and, we would argue, still should) engage in the politics of everyday life, should stir and disturb, should question the status of things we take for granted. What you will hear and what you shall see tonight is, as is already implicit in the original, not in perfect agreement; music and text purposefully play against each other. They in turn are set against an altogether more modern urban ‘wilderness’ (iOpera here becomes ‘eye’ opera, or eye-opener), and glossed by inserts from Bernadette Valley (ed), What Women Want: The Campaign for Social and Political Change (Virago, 1996) and by music from Melbourne-based band TISM and freelance music producer Mitch Kenny.

PT & GR for iOpera

Geängstet - Elmire Geängstet, zerrissen, und nimmer zu wissen ist's Nacht oder Tag! Zu schmelzen, zu trauren, wer mag das erdauren? Das Liebe vermag?

Afraid, torn, and unable to know whether it's night or day! To melt, to mourn, Who may endue it, Oh love, who may?

Liebes Kind, was hast du wieder - Olympia Liebes Kind, was hast du wieder? Welch ein Kummer drückt dich nieder? Sieh! wie ist der Tag so schön; Komm, lass uns in Garten gehn. War das ein Sehnen, war das ein Erwarten: Blühten doch die Blumen! Grünte doch mein Garten! Sieh! die Blumen blühen all, Hör! es schlägt die Nachtigall.

Dearest daughter, why do you frown? What affliction weighs you down? Look, the sun is shining bright; Come, let’s go into the garden. Even if your hopes are, Seeds not worth sowing, Flowers still have petals, Gardens go on growing. See the blossom in the vale, Hear the call of the nightingale.

Was sind all die Seligkeiten - Elmire Was sind all die Seligkeiten, unsrer flachen Jugendzeiten gegen diesen Augenblick! Da mein Herz sein volles Glück aus der holden Schwermut trinkt. Da ich himmelwärts mich sehne, und in bittersüsser Träne eine Welt im Auge blinkt, Was sind all die Seligkeiten unsrer flachen Jugendzeiten gegen diesen Augenblick!

What’s the use of shallow pleasure, Of a life of youthful leisure, At this moment in my life! When my heart can drink its fill. From the bowl of melancholy; When I’m wishing I were in heaven And I see the world through tears, Through bitter-sweet tears.

Ihr solltet genießen - Olympia Ihr solltet genießen, und darbt im Überfluß. Die Jahre, sie fließen, man darbet, man muß. Zu seligem Umfangen drängt sich die Brust empor. Mit quellendem Verlangen horcht jedem Laut dein Ohr. Im Morgenrote freuet dein eignen Bildnis dich, und himmelab bestreuet der Weg mit Blumen sich.

You ought to enjoy yourself, Instead of pining away. There’s plenty of time. When you’re past your prime. For sulking all day. Your senses quiver at the prospect. Of someone holding you tight. With rising sense of longing You listen to the sounds of night. Your image in the mirror. Should please you at break of day. The bridal path to happiness. Is strewn with flowers all the way.

Erwin, o schau - Elmire Erwin! oh schau, oh schau, du wirst gerochen; kein Gott erhöret meine Noth. Mein Stolz hat ihm das Herz gebrochen Oh Liebe! gieb mir den Tod. Erwin! oh schau.

Erwin! Oh look, you have your vengeance. No god takes pity on my terrible, terrible plight. Love, Let me die. Erwin! Oh look.

Da hätt' ich eine niedliche Kleine - Bernardo Da hätt ich eine niedliche Kleine, wär voller Kniffe, witziger Pfiffe, wär immer immer munter und nie verliebt.

There once was a girl. With golden curls, Who teased all the boys. With subtle ploys. She was always cheerful. And never [fell] in love.

Act I

Hin ist hin - Bernardo Hin ist hin und todt ist todt! Spare die vergebne Noth, wirst ihn nicht dem Grab entziehn. Todt ist todt und hin ist hin. Verweine nicht die schönsten Zeiten, ich wett’, ich freye dir den Zweiten, Jung, schön und reich; keine Gefahr! So manche trüge kein Bedenken, dem andern Herz und Hand zu schenken. so würdig auch der Erste war! Hin ist hin und todt ist todt...

He’s dead and gone, That’s my belief! Better to spare yourself unnecessary grief, It won’t bring him back from the grave. He’s dead and gone, and what’s done is done. The past is a place we’d change if we could. I promise that I will find you. A bridegroom who is just as good -Young, handsome, rich; leave it all to me! Someone whom it would be smart to, Unhesitating, give your heart to, No matter how worthy, How worthy young Erwin was. He’s dead and gone…

Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand - Elmire Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand, gebückt in sich und un-bekannt es war ein herzigs Veilchen. Da kam eine junge Schäferin mit leichtem Schritt und munterm Sinn daher, daher, die Wiese her und sang. Ach! denkt das Veilchen, wär ich nur die schönste Blume der Natur, Ach! nur ein kleines Weilchen. Bis mich das Liebchen abgepflückt und an den Busen matt gedrückt, ach nur, ach nur ein Viertelstündchen lang. Ach aber ach! das Mädchen kam, und nicht in Acht das Veilchen nahm, ertrat das arme Veilchen. Und sank und starb und freut sich noch, und sterb ich denn, so sterb ich doch. durch sie, durch sie, zu ihren Füßen doch!

A violet in the meadow grew, a bashful flower that no one knew; It was a dear, sweet violet. There came a jolly shepherdess, with dainty step and pleasing dress, across, across, across the meadow and singing. Ah, thinks the violet, could I but be The fairest flower in history, If only for a little while. Till I were picked and closely pressed To my own darling’ s welcome breast, oh just, just for a quarter of an hour! Alas, alas, the young girl came, Ignoring the violet all the same, And crushed the poor violet underfoot. It drooped and, dying, it uttered a cry: “For though I die, I know that I die. Through her, through her, at her blessed feet.”

Ich muß ihn sehen - Elmire & Bernardo Elmire: Ich muss ihn sehen, den göttergleichen Mann! Bernardo: Ich will, ich will nur sehen, ob er nicht trösten kann! Elmire: Keinen Trost aus seinem Munde, nur Nahrung meinem Schmerz! Bernardo: Er heilet deine Wunde, beseeliget dein Herz.

I must, I must see him, This pious, holy man! I’m sure that he will show you What sympathy he can. I want no crumb of comfort, Just something to feed my pain. He’ll cure you of affliction, Bring joy to your heart again.

Ein Schauspiel für Götter - Bernardo Ein Schauspiel für Götter, zween Liebende zu sehn! Das liebste Frühlingswetter ist nicht so warm, so schön. Wie sie stehn, nacheinander sehn, in vollen Blicken ihre ganze Seele strebt! In schwebendem Entzücken zieht sich Hand nach Hand, und ein schaudervolles Drücken knüpft ein daurend Seelenband. Wie um sie Frühlingswetter, aus der vollen Seele quillt! Das ist euer Bild ihr Götter! Ihr Götter, euer Bild!

When lovers take centre-stage, The gods enjoy the play! The warmest day of summertime Is not as warm as they. See him try to attract her eye. With meaningful glances, Knowing love will always find a way! With quivering excitement. Slipping hand into hand, Soon a permanent liaison Blossoms where once was barren land. If it seems a summer’s thy Is written on their faces, Then we know the gods are in their rightful places.

Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen - Erwin Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen, meine Liebe trug euch nicht. Blühet, ach! dem Hoffnungslosen, dem der Gram die Seele bricht. Jener Tage denk ich traurend,als ich, Engel, an dir hieng; auf das erste Knöspchen laurend früh zu meinem Garten gieng, alle Blüten, alle Früchte noch zu deinen Füßen trug, und vor deinem Angesichte hoffnungsvoll die Seele schlug.

Why are these roses losing their bloom? Can it be my love is wearing them no more? flower for me, please! To lighten up the gloom And restore the hope of before. Now those days I think of with sadness, when, like an angel, you ruled my fate. In the grip of sweetest madness, hoping to meet at the garden-gate, I laid blossom at your feet, brought from the orchard baskets of fruit, and at the sight of that dear face, Hopelessly my spirits rose.

Inneres Wühlen - Erwin Inneres Wühlen ewig zu fühlen, immer verlangen, nimmer erlangen; Fliehen und streben, sterben und leben, höllische Qual endlich einmal!

Innermost yearning. Always returning; Something that is willed. And never fulfilled. Fruitlessly cherishing, living and perishing, torment and pain triumph again!

Auf dem Land und in der Stadt - Erwin & Bernardo Erwin: Auf dem Land und in der Stadt hat man eitel Plagen! Muß um’s Bißchen, was man hat, sich mit’m Nachbar schlagen. Rings auf Gottes Erde weit ist nur Hunger, Kummer, Neid, dich hinaus zu treiben. Bernardo: Erdennoth ist keine Noth, als dem Feig’ und Matten. Arbeit schafft dir täglich Brot, Dach und Fach und Schatten. Rings, wo Gottes Sonne scheint, Findst ein Mädchen, findst einen Freund, laß uns immer bleiben!

Idle townsman or country-dweller Which one has it tougher? For the little we possess Someone else must suffer. What’s the reason, what’s the need For this hunger, sorrow and greed? It’s to drive you from the world. Earthly cares may seem unjust To the lily-livered. Work ensures your daily crust Promptly gets delivered. What’s the reason the sun is shining? It’s because some young girl is smiling. My advice is: avoid the shade!

Sie scheinen zu spielen - Bernardo Sie scheinen zu spielen, voll Leichtsinn und Trug; doch glaub mir! sie fühlen: doch glaub, sie sind klug. Ein feuriges Wesen! Ein trauriger Blick! Sie ahnden, sie lesen ihr künftiges Glück.

It seems like they’re playing, and mocking from afar; They’re actually displaying, how sensitive they are! A warm-hearted nature! A melancholy look! With one eye on the future, they read you like a book.

Sein ganzes Herz dahinzugeben - Erwin & Bernardo Erwin: Sein ganzes Herz dahinzugeben, und Götter, so verachtet sein! Das untergräbt das innre Leben, das ist die tiefste Höllenpein. Bernardo: Sein ganzes Herz dahinzugeben, und wieder ganz geliebt zu sein, ist as nicht reines Himmelsleben? Und welch ein Thor macht sich’s zur Pein?

To give one’s heart where hearts aren’t wanted, and fated to be ridiculed! It undermines your inner vigour, to be by cruel goddess ruled. To give one’s heart where hearts are wanted, To know she grieved to see you leave: Is that not evidence of Heaven?

Act II

Mit vollen Atemzügen - Elmire Mit vollen Atemzügen saug ich, Natur, aus dir, ein schmerzliches Vergnügen. Wie lebt, wie bebt, wie strebt das Herz in mir! Freundlich begleiten mich Lüftlein gelinde, Flohene Freuden, ach! säuseln im Winde, fassen sie bebende strebende Brust. Himmlische Zeiten! Ach! wie so geschwinde Dämmert und blicket und schwindet die Lust! Du lachst mir, liebes Tal, udn du, o reine Himmelssonne, erfüllst mich wiederum einmal mit aller süßen Frühlingswonne. Weh mir! Ach! sonst war meine Seele rein, genoß so friedlich deinen Segen. Verbirg dich, Sonne, meiner Pein, verwildre dich, Natur, und stürme mir entgegen! Die Winde sausen, die Ströme brausen, die Blätter rascheln dürr ab ins Tal. Auf steiler Höhe am nackten Felsen, lieg’ ich und flehe im tiefen Schnee, auf öden Wegen, Gestöber und Regen, fühl ich und flieg ich und suche die Qual.

I feel in equal measure, as if it’s Nature’s way, a blend of pain and pleasure. What thrill will fill My heart today? Instill a thrill, In my heart today? What a companion. I have in the breeze! Was that my happiness, That rustle in the trees, Yesteryear, filling and thrilling my breast? Heavenly moments! Oh, why must cruel fortune come and deprive us of the best! The sunshine in the dale, and there! The skylark taking wing, reminds me to no avail. Of all the tender joys of spring. Poor me! Oh! Once, my spirit knew no strain, received in peace your benediction. Skylark, spare yourself my pain, oh Nature, rise up, and show me your conviction! The wind is blowing, the river flowing, the leaves are gusting, down in the valley. On stony outcrops, On bare escarpments, wherever God can hear me, On lonely byways, I say my prayers. To the snow and the rain, welcoming another chance to find him again.

Sieh mich, Heilger, wie ich bin - Elmire Sieh mich, Heilger, wie ich bin, eine arme Sünderin. Angst und Kummer, Reu und Schmerz. Quälen dieses arme Herz. Sieh mich vor dir unverstellt, Herr, die Schuldigste der Welt. Ich vernahm sein stummes Flehn, und ich konnt’ ihn zehren sehn, hielte mein Gefühl zurück, gönnt ihm keinen holden Blick. Sieh mich vor dir unverstellt, Herr, die Schuldigste der Welt.

Look, dear father by heaven sent, on this mis’rable penitent. Fear and trembling, worry and pain Weigh on this poor woman’s brain. Sir, in me you’ll be surprised to see the guilt is undisguised. Vain entreaties filled his day, I could see him waste away. Still I held my feelings back, tortured him upon the rack. Sir, in me you’ll be surprised, to see the guilt is undisguised.

Ha, sie liebt mich! - Erwin & Bernardo Erwin: Ha sie liebt mich! Sie liebt mich! Welch schreckliches Beben! Fühl ich mich selber? Bin ich am Leben? Ha! sie liebt mich! Sie liebt mich! Ha! rings so anders! Bist du’s noch, Sonne? Bist du’s noch, Hütte? Trage die Wonne, seeliges Herz! Sie liebt mich! Bernardo: Ja, sie liebt dich, sie liebt dich! Siehst du, die Seele hast du betrübet; immer, ach immer hat sie dich geliebet. Erwin: Ich bin so freudig, fühle so mein Leben! Götter, selbst Götter würden mir vergeben. Bernardo: Ach! ihre Tränen, tust ihr nicht gut. Erwin: Sie zu versöhnen fließe mein Blut. Sie liebt mich? Bernardo: Sie liebt Dich!

Ah, she loves me! What terrible trembling! Can I believe it? Is she dissembling? Ah, she loves me! Ah, life seems different! Sun, are you brighter? Hut, now more homely? All things delight. A jubilant heart. She loves me! Yes, she loves you! See how your sadness turns into gladness; all through her troubles, she has always loved you. I am so happy, life has grown so sweet! The joys of heaven can’t hope to compete. This constant weeping will do her harm. Just to be near her, I’d give my right arm. She loves me? She loves you!

Er ist nicht weit - Elmire & Erwin & Bernardo Elmire: Er ist nicht weit! Wo find ich ihn wieder? Er ist nicht weit! Mir beben die Glieder, o Hoffnung! o Glück! Wo geh ich? Wo such ich? Wo find’ ich ihn wieder? Ihr Götter erhört mich! O gebt ihn zurück! Erwin! Erwin! Erwin: Elmire! Ich bin’s! Elmire: Du bist’s! Bernardo: O schauet hernieder, ihr Götter, dies Glück! Da hast du ihn wieder, da nimm sie zurück. Erwin: Ich habe dich wieder, hier bin ich zurück! O schauet hernieder und gönnt mir das Glück. Elmire: Ich habe dich wieder, mir trübt sich der Blick. Ich sinke darnieder, mich tödtet das Glück.

He’s close at hand! There’s no mistaking, he’s close at hand! My body is shaking. What rapture, what hope! I must know: where is he? Oh gods, are you listening to me? Then bring him back! Erwin! Erwin! Elmire, it’s me! It’s you! Let’s treasure forever, the sight of such joy, the nicest case ever, of girl meeting boy! I’m sure there was never, so happy a boy. I’ll treasure forever this moment of joy. I’m sure there were never, two lovers so coy! Just hold me forever, I’m dying of joy!

Vergib mir die Eile - Elmire & Erwin & Bernardo & Olympia Erwin: Vergieb mir die Eile! Ich weile nicht länger hier. Verzeihe! Ich weine noch diese Träne dir. Engel des Himmels, deinem sanften Blicke dank’ ich all mein Glücke, mein Leben dank ich dir! Elmire: Ach! ich atme freyer, du hast mir vergeben. All mein künftig Leben, Liebster! weih ich dir. Bernardo: Zu dem heilgen Orte kehrt ihr einst zurück, fühlet alles Glücke, alles Lebens jier.

Our parting of ways: I’ll stay no longer here. Forgive me! Believe me, I leave you not without shedding a tear. Angel of heaven, what redeeming grace, shimmers in your face. You cured me of all fear. Forgive me! Believe me, I leave you not without shedding a tear. Only an angelic man could be so forgiving. Now the point of living is for you, my dear.

All: Vom Himmel gegeben, genießen wir’s lang, ein daurendes Leben sei Freude und Dank.

The blessings of heaven! Mysterious ways! For long life and fortune, give thanks and give praise.

Thursdays@Trinity Trinity’s popular lunchtime concert series returns for the academic year 2008, featuring solo and small ensemble performances.

The 2008 series commences on Thursday 6 March at 1 pm with Dr John O’Donnell at the keyboard of the College’s new harpsichord.

On Maundy Thursday 20 March, members of the Trinity College Choir, under the guest direction of Peter Tregear, will perform Dietrich Buxtehude’s magnificent set of Lenten cantatas: Membra Jesu Nostri.

ENTRY FREE (retiring donation)

Trinity College Chapel Royal Parade Parkville

Professor Richard Divall OBE, Dee Jenkins (graphic design), Peter Burch, Lin Bender, Dr Albrecht Dümling, School of Creative Arts - The University of Melbourne (rehearsal rooms), Ian McLay (set builder), Sadie Chandler (scenic painter), Durran Reid (VCA prop and costume hire), Jane Hyland (costume hire), Mitch Kenny (audio), Belinda Strodder (photography), Kay Attali (Trinity College), Kirstie Robertson (Trinity College), Rosemary Sheludko (Trinity College), Suze Smith (technical crew), Ben Morris (technical crew), Carmen Edwards, Grant Cooper, Seal Distribution, Renza Scibilia (front of house), Matthew Toogood (repetiteur), Jon Bradley (repetiteur), Professor Cathy Falk, Kerry Murphy, Faculty of Music - The University of Melbourne, Jim David-son, Anne Frankenberg (Victorian Opera), Tom Drent, Steven Stanke, Dr Ian Burk, and the countless other individuals who have supported us on this journey. Our abiding thanks.

iOpera

Thank you...

Artistic Directors: Dr Peter Tregear, Dr Gert Reifarth General Manager: Stephen Moschner

info@iopera.com.au

www.iopera.com.au

OPERAI